mr. bobbit at the beginning

All eyes were on Mr. Bobbit as he was transported to a time many years ago in a dusty old house. Long before the mustache and Beatrix and Sybil and Penny.

"It's time, Jack," Mrs. Bobbit fidgeted with the ribbon on her robe.

"Fine," Mr. Bobbit grunted, sitting on a nearby log. "This could take a while."

Broomstick Betsy spread a green checkered blanket on the ground at once. Mrs. Bobbit gathered Beatrix and Sybil close and plopped down with a nod and, "Thank you, dear." An owl hooted once, twice, and went silent. Even the trees and the breeze stilled, waiting on Mr. Bobbit to begin his story.

---

Everybody thought Jack Bobbit was a not a lot of fun. He was the youngest of three siblings, and spent much of his childhood saving his older siblings from falling out of trees or eating mushrooms and berries they'd collected from the backyard.

"You're the baby, you're supposed to be more fun!" June, the middle sibling , wailed when Jack explained that umbrellas merely protected you from rain, not enabled you to fly.

"C'mon, Juney," Jace, the oldest sibling whispered conspiratorially from his rusted red bike. June hopped on the back and stuck her tongue out at Jack as they sped away down the road, dust flying in their wake.

Jack, who at eight was only two years younger than Jace, bit his lip to hold back the tears, and mumbled, "Why can't I be fun?"

Since the house was empty, Jack shuffled inside to work on the grass stain adorning his favorite pair of shorts. While he was scrubbing at the stain with a toothbrush, a knock came from the front door. It only sounded once, so Jack ignored it.

Until it happened again. In a huff, Jack abandoned his now pristine red shorts, and opened the front door in a series of creaks.

"Helllllo! My name is Pansy, and I recently moved one mile down the street with my mom and sister and our pug, Pantsy--"

"I'm sorry, Pantsy?" Jack asked, scratching his head.

"Yes, that's me! Pansy!"

"No, the pug. The pug is Pantsy?" Jack rolled his eyes, though he had to admit he was intrigued.

"Oooooh yes! Because he pants. A lot. Anyway, where was I?" Pansy twirled her short black ponytail. "Would you like to play with me by the pond? There's a lot of stuff I need to gather for making potions before winter comes."

"Potions?!" Jack exclaimed, raising his hands. Then, glancing back at the empty brown house, "I accept your invitation. Shall we?"

Pansy smiled widely revealing large front teeth. When they walked around the wooden house towards the pond, Pansy retrieved two broomsticks from underneath a pile of leaves. "You do know how to ride?" Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Unbelievable," Jack grumbled. Then, he saw his siblings' faces as they zipped off to play without him and accepted the broomstick with a poorly disguised grimace.

"Excellent! Both hands on the broom," Pansy directed, placing her small hands on Jack's unusually large ones. Shocked by the contact, Jack pulled back, but Pansy remained watching him curiously with her eyes bright and head tilted. "Are you...never mind. Keep up!"

Leaves crunched and dandelion fuzz flew as Pansy galloped down the hill. Jack scratched his head. But when Pansy looked back, happy tears were sliding down her face and she was grinning wildly.

"That does look fun," Jack said quietly, before he took off to join her. At first, he felt nothing but his feet pounding into the grass. He was still waiting for the fun to begin, when the wind picked up and began humming in his ears. The hum dulled some, and words became clear in its absence.

Jack Bobbit with your feet on the ground

Listen to the sound

Of the sky

It calls you to fly

Jack was so shocked. So this is what being fun is, he thought, but maintained his focus. Running faster and faster down the hill, waiting on the ground to disappear beneath his feet.

His feet lifted, they were hovering, he was doing it! And then he was tumbling and somersaulting in a cyclone of grass stains all the way down to the pond.

"Are you alright?" Pansy rushed over with a purple cup of crisp water which she proceeded to pour on his face.

"Garrr," Jack garbled through the pond water. Then, when his head had stopped spinning, "How are the grass stains?" He propped himself up to inspect his khaki pants and blue button down which were completely covered in green and brown smudges.

"Oh those? Nothing a little Stain Removing Potion can't fix," Pansy retrieved a light wooden basket and began filling it with dirt and sticks and stones and flowers.

"You mean like soap?" Jack mumbled. He watched her with intrigue, trying to resist falling into despair over the scope of the stains, when a bird chirped four times behind him.

He turned around, and gasped loudly, "Oh my." Holding his large hands outstretched, he carefully approached the small gathering of birds, rabbits and chipmunks. They were watching him contentedly, he'd always loved animals so. His siblings often chased them around, while all he wanted to do was sit with them quietly and listen.

"Hello, my name is Jack Bobbit," he introduced himself to the crowd of critters, but received no reply. Though, he could feel something unusual. It seemed as if the animals were listening. "I'm not very fun. My siblings always say so. No one wants to play with me because I worry about grass stains," he told the animals. "I want to be fun! I tried just now, and look at me! Covered in grass stains with a girl named Pansy whose pug's name is PANTSY. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

The birds chirped and ruffled their feathers. "Right? I'm so glad you agree. Because, I have a secret. One I've never told anyone," the animals leaned in closely. "I have the most fun vivid dreams! Where I can fly by the moon and use a crooked twig for spells against invading weeds and brew cups of Tapping Tea that make my feet dance and there's this girl with me who smells like soap and--"

The chipmunks squeaked, and Jack turned around to see Pansy watching him with a wide open mouth and a basket full of brush.

"It's true," she squealed, sending the basket flying.

"What's true?" Jack grunted. The animals cut their eyes between the two of them, completely enraptured.

"You have magical blood! I knew it, I just knew it! Well, my sister knew it, but still" Pansy pranced and twirled about giggling quite madly.

"I have no such thing!" Jack shrieked before throwing his hands over his mouth, and lowering his voice. "No, it's simply not true. Magic doesn't exist."

"Oh you don't really believe that do you?"

"Of course I do! Because it's tru--"

Jack was spluttering again. Somehow, Pansy had thrown a giant bowl of water and dirt and dandelions right at him. While the potion made him cough at first, it soon evaporated in a sweet smelling cloud. In a flash, he looked down and saw his clothes were dry and stain-free once more.

"Your turn!" Pansy said, tapping her foot while she waited.

Jack was prepared to protest, until he felt the animals behind him. Cheering him on with their little chirps and squeaks and nose twitches. Accepting a crooked stick from Pansy that heated in his hand, he pointed the stick towards the pond.

He began muttering under his breath to the water until waves began lapping the shore. Then, a large wave built towards the middle of the pond, and rose higher and higher while it approached the edge. When it arrived, the wave grew legs and leapt over the rocks until it was looming right over Pansy. She gaped up at it, and Jack let it dissolve on them in the finest soft droplets.

"AMAZING!" Pansy screamed, grabbing his hand and twirling him round and round while the mist rained down on them in a steady stream.

They collapsed on the ground in a pile of laughter, eventually. And when they did, Jack asked, "How did you know? I didn't even...I mean I'm not sure what...or how."

"My sister's seen you in her dreams before. She told me you only needed a bit of encouragement. She'd have come herself but she's still at camp, and she was worried it'd be too late," Pansy explained. "Plus, I may have covered your broom in Slippery Salve so you'd be more inclined to embrace your magic!"

"You...what?!"

But, Pansy was already on her feet and darting up the hill. A fair-headed girl waited for her there in a spotless floral dress. The scent of clean soap wafted towards him.

Jack couldn't take his eyes off her. The girl from his dream was here.

"My sister just got home from camp, and we have loads to catch up on! We'll be back tomorrow, though," Pansy nudged her sister.

"Bye, Jack," she giggled as the two sisters disappeared together. Jack was so taken with the tinkling sound of her giggle that he nearly forgot.

He'd never given Pansy his name.

That night, when he dreamed, the fair-haired girl appeared in a pink floral nightgown in a row of tulips under a full moon. Oh, what fun they had.

---

Mr. Bobbit rubbed his tired eyes, and glanced at Mrs. Bobbit with a small smile. Her floral robe had nary a wrinkle. And though much time had passed, she still looked like the fair-haired girl standing atop a hill in a crisply pressed dress.

"Well, that's that then," Mrs. Bobbit stood and giggled melodically. Mr. Bobbit was at her side at once. She patted his cheek. "Thank you, Jack, dear."

"Hold on!" Beatrix interjected loudly. "What happened to Pansy?!"

Mrs. Bobbit looked from Mr. Bobbit to Beatrix, adjusted her robe, and said, "That's Aunt Pan, of course, Beatrix, dear."